


Alive with the Glory of Love

by MiddleofNowhere92



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - World War II, F/M, Genocide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 07:49:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29623008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiddleofNowhere92/pseuds/MiddleofNowhere92
Summary: Two lovers, forbidden from one another,A war divides their people,And a mountain divides them apart,Built a path to be together,And die..
Relationships: Ty Lee/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11
Collections: 2021 Avatar Pro-Shipping Rare Pair Challenge





	Alive with the Glory of Love

**Author's Note:**

> TW: This is a world war II AU, so yeah I didn't describe anything too graphically, but concentration camps, genocide and ghettos are all mentioned so proceed with caution. 
> 
> I kept the rating at teen, because again I didn't describe any of these with too much detail.

Zuko looked out the window of the train, watching the city pass by the window. His father sat across from him, looking over plans to invade another nation. Zuko had told his father he wanted to participate and know more, be a great leader like him. Ozai had bought it- hook line and sinker. 

But Zuko had different reasons for coming along. As the train passed by the city and into the countryside he thought about his reason- Ty Lee. 

Ty Lee had always been a pretty child, but she was breathtaking as she entered womanhood. Her long brown hair was always carefully braided. Her grey eyes and soft smile, always warm and welcoming. 

He clenched his fist. He fucking missed her. 

When Zuko’s father became the ruler of the Fire Nation, he had blamed the country’s shortcomings on the Air Nomads. His first proclamation was that the Fire Nation go to war with the Air Nomads, and so they had. Ozai preached that the war was to spread the “superiority” of the Fire Nation, but Zuko realized his father was delusional. 

Zuko was as Fire Nation as a person could be, but he was not superior to his love, Ty Lee. He was lucky that he was allowed to worship at her altar. If the Spirits ever did speak, she would be their last true mouthpiece. The only Spirit World he would ever know was when he was alone with her. 

As Fire Nation troops marched out of the Capital City, onto ships and tanks headed to the Air Nations, Ozai proclaimed that all Air Nomads within the city needed to live in guarded areas, separate from the “superior” Fire Nation citizens.. 

The night after the proclamation, Zuko had held Ty Lee’s face in his hands, looking into her eyes that were as bright and silver as the moon, “You’re lovely baby, this war is crazy. I won’t let you down. I won’t let them take you.”

Every night, he crept out of his home, keeping to the shadows to avoid being seen by his father’s soldiers. Ty Lee would effortlessly jump down from her window, into the street with him. They would slip out of the ghetto, the city that was vast and shitty, out into the boot stomped meadow, but they ignored it. They spent their nights laying out in the grass holding each other. He would murmur into her ear, “I won’t let them take you, won’t let them take you, oh no no.”

As the nation rapidly consumed his father’s propaganda, Ozai ordered the rounding up of those of Air Nomad descent and sending them to “work” camps. Zuko had taken Ty Lee and begged his uncle to hide her in his tea shop. Iroh readily had, not believing in his brother’s violent hatred. 

Zuko continued his visits, slipping into the teashop long after it had closed. Ty Lee’s skin grew more pale, but her eyes were still bright and her smile still warm. They would lay in her tiny room. He would bring her fire flakes and her other favorite treats. Every time she smiled at him was worth every risk he took to see her. He would run his fingers through her hair as they lay on her cot, “I won’t let them take you, won’t let them take you…”

Troops became emboldened, ordered to search homes and shops for those in hiding. They would not only take people, but anything valuable- gold fillings, wallets and rings. They had been tipped off about Iroh from one of his father’s spies. Zuko was helpless as he arrived at the tea shop in the dark of night, finding it empty. He later learned from Azula that his Uncle and the love of his life had been taken to separate work camps. 

Zuko was brought back to the present by the rocking of the train. He looked over the plans for the work camp they were to be inspecting today, pretending to listen to his father, but mentally going over his plan. Iroh was a fighter, he knew his uncle would get out by his sheer determination. But Zuko heard the horrors that happened to the Air Nomads in the work camps. He mentally thought to himself, “I won’t let them take her, won’t let them take her, oh no no.”

Zuko’s mind relentlessly played thousands of different scenarios, each more gruesome than the last, as he imagined what could have happened to his love. He tried to remember the good memories they shared together. He dreamt about her, thought about her, he hoped she wouldn’t doubt him with the passing of time.

They arrived at the camp. He followed his father, attempting to keep a neutral face, attempting to keep the bile from coming out of his mouth at the horrors he saw. But then, he saw her, he finally saw her. Her long hair was gone, her head shaved bald. She was emaciated, her skin pulled thin, but he would recognize her eyes anywhere. He had originally planned to wait until night fall, but no, she didn’t deserve another second of this. 

He easily managed to slip away from his father and his men. He approached Ty Lee, and grabbed her as the other guards were too distracted by his father’s entourage. Zuko had the map of the camp committed to memory. They stuck to the shadows of the large warehouse like buildings. 

Instead of going out through the high gates, they slipped down to the river that ran through the camp. His plan had actually worked, he could finally be with her, get her away from this real life nightmare. 

A single gun shot rang out as they got to the water’s edge. He pushed Ty Lee forward, but she desperately clung to his hand. The love that filled him as he looked at her was as warm as the bullet in his chest. He told her, “I know my purpose, this all was worth it. You have to go. I told Mai to expect you. Her family’s cabin isn’t too far. I won’t let you down.”

As he heard frantic alarms going off and boots hitting the ground he pulled his hand from hers. She turned following the river and disappeared from sight. As he struggled to breathe, he promised her one more time, “I won’t let them take you, won’t let them take you…”

Even though he was laboring just to fill his lungs with air, knowing that the girl he cherished was away from this torture made him feel alive with the glory of love. 

**Author's Note:**

> I am reliving the emo 2000s, this fic is based on the song Alive with the Glory of Love by Say Anything (2006) .
> 
> I also took a line from Hozier's Take me to Church, because it is a damn good line.
> 
> This fic is for the forbidden love prompt for the 2021 ATLA rarepair pro shipping challenge. If you haven't gotten enough of my idiocy come be my fren on [tumblr](https://middleofnowhere92.tumblr.com)


End file.
